Great True Stories of Crime, Mystery & Detection

by Reader's Digest Association

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 65-10697


(From the inside flap) "Could a Harvard professor possibly be the murderer? What convinced a junkman that he was buying the Eiffel Tower? What evil, twisted motives incited the actions of such criminals as Al Capone, Adolf Eichmann and John Wilkes Booth? In sixty true articles chosen as the best in over forty years of The Reader's Digest, mystery and crime are shown in full range - the supernatural, the terrifying, the intriguing, the amusing. From Alger Hiss to Bluebeard of Paris, from the Orient to the untracked Arctic, these stories trace the paths of men and women who have murdered, disappeared, committed treason, swindled, betrayed, haunted, been wrongfully imprisoned, reached past the grave, and otherwise have become involved in activities requiring the greatest ingenuity in the art of detection.

Genres: Mystery, Nonfiction, True Crime, Anthologies, Short Stories, Crime

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great True Stories of Crime, Mystery & Detection (1965) is a collection of supposedly factual stories edited by the Reader's Digest Association and written by a variety of authors. It includes accounts of famous crimes and criminals such as the assassination of President Lincoln and the capture of Al Capone as well as lesser-known stories of a murderous Harvard professor, the Great Portuguese Bank-Note Swindle, and the secrets of a Soviet assassin among others. It covers everything from forgery to kidnapping to murder and it also includes tales with supernatural overtones.

These "true" stories are told in such an informal, anecdotal manner that it is really difficult to take them seriously. Especially those that involve ghostly goings-on (which apparently fits under the broad mystery category). I also had the feeling that I had read some of these accounts before in books aimed at children--the story about John Wilkes Booth especially brought my elementary school library to mind. Perhaps it's the illustrations found among the stories; because they also remind me of those Alfred Hitchcock collections that I used read when I was young. The writing is very simplistic (far more simplistic than I remembered from Reader's Digest stories) and there is little investigative features to the reports. If someone is looking for bare-bones stories of true crime in very basic language then this is a book for them. ★★ and a half.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Marie Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this old book in the "discarded" library bin for 50 cents. So glad I picked it up! The stories are easy to read about real people in history who have done some crazy stuff and gotten away with it (or not). The ingenuity behind some of the crimes was staggering in some cases, and so simple it is ridiculous in others. I especially liked the sections about paranormal accounts. Why does it randomly sound like a piano is crashing in the attic? Great book that has kept me entertained over the years. It does not have to be read in order, just pick the story that looks most interesting to you, and start reading :).

[Barry Martin Vass · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is a voluminous collection of short stories and condensed novels about crime and criminality in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The tale of John Wilkes Booth is in here, as is a story of Leon Trotsky's Soviet assassin. Another story relates how Chicago gangster Al Capone was finally taken down for income tax evasion. Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote three stories in this collection, and there are a number of ghost stories to keep you on your toes. Another condensed novel details the Alger Hiss Soviet espionage trial of the late forties. There are tales of bank robbers, confidence men, forgers, and lawmen in this book, all of them pared to the bone so the reader can easily follow every story. If you're a crime buff, True Stories is must-reading.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, with a copyright date of 1965, has been on my bookshelf for many years. I finally read it from cover to cover and appreciated learning how some of the crimes were solved. Most of the 60 stories were short. The stories mentioned blood, gunshots, and suffering but did not dwell on gore.
Some stories were humorous, and a few told of supernatural experiences.
The longest story, Seeds of Treason, included many names of people who held government positions. I remembered some of those people, such as Nixon, Roosevelt, and Hoover. However, there were many I don't remember hearing of before reading this book.
I had planned to take this book to Goodwill after reading it, but I liked it so much that I am undecided now. Will I want to read some of those stories again?

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a really fun and interesting mix of stories. The writing was simple and intriguing, maintaining interest where a lot of historical details could easily be conveyed dryly. A lot of the stories are abridged from larger works which may be interesting to follow up with.

[Farhad Shawkat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic re-read after 30 years.

[Gregg Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad collection...some very interesting historical accounts of famous crimes and criminals which proved enlightening...and some amusing anecdotes about criminals doing dumb things...the downside part were the personal memory pieces by J. Edgar Hoover, given what we know about his actual character now when he was director of the F.B.I.